Lost links & Re-ups

On any post, if the link is no longer good, leave a comment if you want the music re-uploaded. As long as I still have the file, or the record, cd, or cassette to re-rip, I will gladly accommodate in a timely manner all such requests.

Slinging tuneage like some fried or otherwise soused short-order cook

18 April 2013

Slovenia

A sharp visitor by the name of Anonymous left a comment on the Bosnia & Herzegovina
post stating that: “Marjanov Čudni Zajec are from Slovenia”. Actually, this is quite
correct. The reasons I posted them up in B&H are twofold.

One is because I credited Marko Brecelj with dreaming up & creating this
insane ensemble. He is from Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Therefore…(though the
band itself was from Slovenia,
since Brecelj had moved to Ljubljana
to attend University & then to attack the Slovenian eardrums).

Secondly, I was intending on posting up the band Buldožer while in Slovenia. Buldožer
is another project that Brecelj left his mark on. I have however, realized that
I shouldn’t be able to have it both ways: Slovenia
& not Slovenia.
Therefore I changed from Pljuni
istini u oči, Buldožer’s
first album with Brecelj handling the vocal chores, to Izlog Jeftinih
Slatkiša, Buldožer’s first album after Marko left the band. That way I have
Marjanov Čudni Zajec under Bosnia & Herzrgovina because of Brecelj’s
nationality & still get to put Buldožer in Slovenia, minus one Marko.

Not that anyone cares, nor should they, since it’s all great musick,
whatever the country or label. I’m just
saying in the name of accuracy…

In 1974 Brecelj joined the Ljubljana
band Sedam svetlobnih let. Sedem svetlobnih let ("Seven Light Years")
was led by guitarist & at the time lead vocalist Boris Bele. Their line-up
included keyboardist/composer Borut Činč, bass guitarist Andrej Veble, lead
guitarist Uroš Lovšin & drummer Stefan Jež.With the change in
vocalist & the change of direction of the music, the band decided also to change
their name to Buldožer.

The band received wide acclaim after their first appearance at the Boom
Festival. They were offered a record contract by Jugoton. They rejected that
offer in favor of going with PGP-RTB, believing they could reach a wider
audience in the Serbian market. With Brecelj at the helm, Buldožer made quite a
stir in Slovenia
concerning the term ‘rock music’. Although the first album, Pljuni istini u oči (Spit the Truth into Eyes), featuring
hits like "Život to je feferon", "Ljubav na prvi krevet",
& "Blues gnjus", was quickly sold out, PGP-RTB balked at issuing
a follow-up release. They felt the band’s music was marked by "higher
instances of inappropriate & controversial" material.

Buldožerwas roundly ignored by the
media, but they successfully built an image as Zappaesque freaks with their numerous
live gigs (as always with Marko, a unique blend of music, poetry, &
theater). Although they introduced themselves as a " typical folk-pop
ensemble from Slovenia", Brecelj was prone to unpredictable excesses like
appearing on stage in a wheelchair, burning his hair & beard, or going on
long rants loaded with cynicism & irony.

As we have seen in other Communist bloc countries from this time, such a
thorn in the eye to the establishment would not pass lightly. Censorship reared
its ugly head during the recording of their second album. There were continued
censorship of lyrics & entire songs. This record, Zabranjeno plakatirati (No placateering) was on ice for a
year, until Helidon from Ljubljana
finally stepped up & issued it. In the meantime, the rhythm section changed
so that bassist Vili Bertok & drummer Tone Dimnik participated in studio
sessions. Then Brecelj left the band to put his full energies into his
solo-career. Bele took over as lead vocalist, the role which he had performed
pre-Brecelj. He proved he was not to be taken lightly. He continued his own
brand of the Brecelj's style of excesses & provocation.

This is the first album without Marko Brecelj as vocalist.
It’s a doozy.

In 1977, Peter Lovšin & Gregor Tomc, two young men from
the Ljubljana suburb of Kodeljevo, Slovenia,
came up with the idea of forming a band. From its conception, the band was
heavily influenced by the UK
punk scene. Lovšin was the singer of the band, while Tomc was the band's
manager. The two were the primary song writers, but it was Tomc who came up
with the bands name, Pankrti (The Bastards). They were known for provocative
& politically edged songs. They billed themselves as ‘The First Punk Band
Behind the Iron Curtain’. They were in fact one of the first punk rock bands
ever formed in a Communist country.

The band started playing in the fall of 1977, practicing in
the basement of the Kodeljevo's Music
School. They played their
first show at Moste
High School. Initially
they played mainly covers of established punk bands including the Sex Pistols,
The Clash & New York Dolls. Some of their first original songs became immensely
popular: "Za železno zaveso" (Behind the Iron Curtain);
"Anarhist" (Anarchist); & "Lublana je bulana" (Ljubljana is Sick).

In 1980, they released their first album, Dolgcajt (Boredom).
Their second album, 1982s Državni
ljubimci (State Lovers) was a success with the Slovenian public. It was awarded
‘best Yugoslav album of the year’. In 1984 they released their third album, Rdeči
(Red Album). Its title is an obvious pun on the famous album by The Beatles
contrasted with the red as a symbol of Communism. The album featured a cover
version of the famous Italian Communist revolutionary song “Bandiera Rossa”
(Red Flag), which is one of their most famous tracks. One of their last
concerts was in Tivoli Hall in Ljubljana
in 1987, named Zadnji pogo (The Last Pogo). That same year they released their
final studio album, Sexpok, which I am featuring here.

In 1996 the group temporarily reformed to perform as a
support act for the Sex Pistols concert in Ljubljana during their Filthy Lucre Tour.
Peter Lovšin sings with the band Španski borci (Spanish Republican Fighters).
In 2007, he announced Pankrti's reunion concert at the (immediately sold out)
Hall Tivoli for December 1, 2007 as a celebration of their 30th anniversary.
This show was followed by performances in Serbia
& Croatia.

In 1985. Danijel Dadi Kašnar (ex Martin Krpan Videosex), Mario Marolt (ex
Marcus 5) & Miroslav Lovrič met at a workshop in Ljubljana Jazz Festival. They
decided to start up a free form jazz-punk-whatever-they-felt-like kinda band. They
named the band Miladojka Youneed. Their first concert was held in Ljubljana's club K4 in
1986. Their first release, the self-titled cassette was released in March in
1987. They were asked to play the prestigious Cheskoslovansky Jazzový Festival
in Karlovy Vary.
In June they recorded live material in the Ljubljana club Valentino. Then they opened
for New York band
Swans. They had become a big name in Slovenian alternative music before their
first album was out. In September of 1987 they released their first LP Ghastly
Beyond Belief!

Ghastly Beyond Belief! was received enthusiastically by new jazz,
pop, rock & the hard-core audience. It was such an expansive, eclectic
blend of disparate styles, jazz-core, acid metal, synthetic trash?Due to the embracing of these various different
musical genres, it was impossible to classified their style, but whatever their
style, the fact remains that they were one of the most important bands of this
most productive period in Slovenian alternative, creative music.

The album was such a success that the Dutch company NL Centrum re-released
it under their Massmusic banner in 1989, giving them access to the entire
European market. Quickly this was followed by performances both at home &
abroad (playing festivals in Hungary,
Greece, Italy, Austria,
Belgium, as well as the Netherlands.